At 21.00 MSK (18.00 UTC 13.00 EST 10.00 PST 03.00 17 March AEST) on 16 March at the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, the brotherhood of the monastery and the students of the Sretensky Seminary celebrated a Pannikhida in memory of the newly-departed Metropolitan Laurus Škurla, the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. After the completion of the service, the superior of the monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, gave the following address to the assembly.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
My dear fathers and brotherhood! It was our great joy not only to see, but also to associate with this holy man, for whose sake we have completed this first pannikhida. Metropolitan Laurus lived a long, exultant, and admirable life as a Christian monk of the Russian Orthodox Church. From his youth, indeed, for the remainder of his life, he dedicated himself entirely to the service of Christ and His Church, and he brought to God all the talents that were entrusted to him. First of all, he purified himself of all passions, and his soul was decorated with love, immeasurable kindness, and true humbleness. He brought to the Lord as the fruit of his works and prayers the entire assembly of archpastors and pastors, and his monastic disciples and students at Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary in Jordanville.
He made a largely unseen, but very important, contribution to the revival of Orthodox Russia. The books published by the printing house under his direction in the middle and end of the last century reached Russia under arduous conditions, and they shed the light of Christ’s salvation in the moral darkness and fog that surrounded so many in our motherland in those times. We can see the fruit of his life in the lives of countless laity of the ROCOR, of whom he was their most precious spiritual teacher and benefactor. However, the greatest example to his parishioners was his holy and focused life, with a continual burning love for Christ and sacrificial service to his flock.
Finally, his main offering to Christ as archpastor and head of the ROCOR was his carrying through of the wishes of its founders… the eventual reunification of it with the Church in the motherland. It was made possible together with His Holiness Patriarch Aleksei, these two men who lived at a time that was incomprehensively difficult, yet, also incomparably inspiring, for Russian priests, bishops, and monks. Without being distracted by the storms of hatred and spite, they accomplished the duty that was laid before them by the Lord Jesus Christ.
We, in Russia, did not know Vladyki for many years, during the time of our separation. However, we became the joyful witnesses of his last great endeavour, which he completed for the sake of the entire Russian emigration, both those who had already gone on to the Lord, and those now living scattered over the face of the globe. Perhaps, most importantly, we became witnesses of how he did this; we became the witnesses of his prayers. Precisely, prayer was the main source of Vladyki Laurus’ power, it was his main vocation, it was his main talent, and it was his main weapon. Prayer was his main joy and hope.
Today, such people are very rare. I, along with all of you, had the blessing of seeing this man and associating with him. You remember, as it was less than a month ago, how he served his last (and it seemed like the only one!) liturgy in Moscow with us here in the Sretensky Monastery. He said to me that it seemed as though the very earth here at the Sretensky Monastery was like an antimins because so many of the New Martyrs had accepted torture and death for Christ here.
We remember everything that happened in connection with this service… Vladyki Laurus, in spite of the tremendous fatigue caused by his ill-health, the long flight from America, the daily services and celebrations, after the service ended, at the common meal, he not only gave a general blessing, he blessed each one of us in particular! He blessed every monk, novice, seminarian, and worker in the refectory. With love, interest, and happiness he looked into the face of each monk and seminarian. All of you were for him the same as his family. The blessings of this champion of prayer and this man of a most holy life shall stay with us to the end of our days.
I’ll say that Vladyki was one of the best and one of the most self-sacrificing people that I’ve ever met in my life.
Voices from Russia 
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